


Come Dress Yourself In Love

by theworldwhispers



Category: Glee
Genre: AU, Anderberry Siblings, Chaptered, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-06
Updated: 2012-11-03
Packaged: 2017-11-09 07:55:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/453124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theworldwhispers/pseuds/theworldwhispers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Say Yes to the Dress AU.  Kurt works as a consultant at Kleinfelds - sure of and loving his job despite having to daily watch happy, engaged couples come and go as a single man.  But one day and one appointment may just change everything.  (GKM fill)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Based off [this prompt](http://glee-kink-meme.livejournal.com/32650.html?thread=43617162#t43617162) on the GKM. Please note this is AU in more ways than one! Alternate Klaine meeting, Anderberry siblings, Say Yes to the Dress AU.

Kurt Hummel began working at Kleinfeld Bridal during his sophomore year of college, having scored a prestigious internship with the salon.  If you’d asked him during high school if he’d wanted to do fashion with his life, he’d probably have laughed in your face.  He was Broadway bound, and everyone knew it.

And then, suddenly, he wasn’t.  His NYADA rejection – though hardly the end of the road, as his father pointed out – swept him out to sea and left him struggling to keep his head above the water.  Having not applied to back-up schools, he was suddenly a high school graduate with no plans and nowhere to go.  But Kurt Hummel was not one to give up without a fight.

After giving himself suitable time to mope, he picked himself up by his bootstraps and applied for Spring Semester admission to a generous handful of schools.  Performing Arts, Musical Theatre – they were still his dream, so schools like Pace and Juilliard and NYU still took the forefront, but at the last minute, he sent off an application to Parsons, not thinking anything would come from it.

But one day around Halloween, the letter came telling him he had been accepted, full scholarship – his portfolio having been rather impressive.  Sketching and designing had always been things he did just for fun, not anything he’d seriously considered trying to make a career out of.

And yet – he found himself drawn to the school.  So, in a great shock to everyone he knew, he accepted, his Broadway dreams taking the back burner to these new, exciting, fresh dreams.  Dreams of Bryant Park and runways and fashion week.

His first year had been hard, and there was definitely more than one late night in the studio where he called his father crying, completely certain that he would never finish this project, this sketch, this design in time.  But he did.  He always did.  And so he quickly skyrocketed to the top of his class, despite his late entry into the program.

A year later, he was accepting an internship at the salon with the world’s largest selection of wedding dresses, figuring it to be amazing experience.

He didn’t think he’d never leave.  But three years post-graduation, he was still there, and still loving his job.  He was good at what he did – one of their best consultants – and he thoroughly enjoyed helping people make their dreams come true.

He was only a little bitter.

Growing up a gay male in Ohio, he was pretty much completely alone.  If there were other gay men there, none of them were out like he was.  New York really hadn’t improved his love life much either.  Sure, he’d gone on dates – even had a kind of serious boyfriend once – but his schooling, his work, always ended up overpowering everything else.

So that was how he ended up where he was now: a 24-year-old single male, sometimes having to force a smile as he watched engaged couple after engaged couple walk away to begin their new lives while he sits here – his life unchanging.

With a sigh, he pulls the door open to the salon and heads inside, going back to check out his book for the day.  Four appointments.  At an hour and a half each in an eight hour day, that gave him a mere two hours of wiggle room (plus time to squeeze in some lunch, if possible).

_This is going to be a long day_ , he thinks.


	2. Chapter 1

His first few appointments go relatively smoothly.  He manages to end the third being less than an hour behind schedule.  But that’s still almost an hour that he’s left a bride and her party waiting out in the lobby.  The clients tend to busy themselves looking at the dresses on display out there while they wait, so they don’t _often_ mind – but them looking at dresses can be either a good thing or a bad thing for him.

On the one hand, maybe one of them spots _the_ dress.  On the other hand, maybe they just get too many ideas.

Still, not knowing how this group will react to his lateness, he grabs his clipboard, runs a hand through his hair quickly in a mirror, and puts on his brightest smile as he walks out into the lobby.

“A miss Rachel Berry?” he calls, scanning the room for some sort of reaction.

A rather petite girl with a fairly large entourage bounces over towards him, all smiles and grins.  “That would be me!” she chirps.  “Though you may recognize me from the playbills of the Off-Broadway version of Rent.”  She thrust her hand out then, grabbing Kurt’s and giving it a hearty shake for how small she was.

“I haven’t made it out to see that one,” Kurt says, returning the handshake firmly, “but I suppose I’ll have to now.  Why don’t we all take a seat over on these couches over here?”

He leads the group over to a little semicircle of couches in the lobby, arranged carefully behind the pedestal that so many brides look forward to standing on for the first time.  This is Kleinfelds, after all.  It was hard enough to get an appointment here before, but since the TV show began a few years ago, it had become even harder – the store skyrocketing even further into the bridal spotlight.

“First off, I apologize for being late.”  Rachel begins to wave him off, but he holds a hand up to stop her.  “No, no – I know you only have an hour and a half here with us, and I’m sure you all have busy schedules, so I’m sorry.  Rest assured, though, you will get your entire appointment time.”

Two men on either side of Rachel on the couch relax a bit at that, and it catches Kurt’s eye.  Just to be sure he’s correct in his assumption, his next question is, “So who all do you have here with you today, Rachel?”

Rachel immediately brightens up even more, which Kurt hadn’t thought possible, and gestures to each person one at a time as she lists them off.  “These are my fathers, Hiram and Leroy Berry – they’ll be the ones paying for the dress.”

Immediately, the tension floods back into the two men’s bodies at the mention of the possible bill, and Kurt bites his lip to hold back his smile.  He was right – they are the dads.  _Dads_.  He can’t dwell on it too long, though, as Rachel continues immediately in listing people.

“Next to Dad is my brother, Blaine,” she says, and the boy gives him a soft wave.  Kurt nods at him, immediately struck by how handsome he is.  Reluctantly, he tears his eyes away to follow Rachel’s pointing.  “And on his left are Quinn, Mercedes, and Tina – three of our friends from high school.”

Kurt glances a few more times back and forth between Rachel and Blaine.  “Are you twins, then?  I just noticed that you said _your_ friends, and you do look rather similar.”

Blaine, to Kurt’s surprise, is the one who speaks up.  “We are, yeah,” he says, smiling up at Kurt.  “Most people don’t guess that right away.  What with the differences in skin tone and general body build.  But we are.”

“I’m older,” Rachel quips, reaching across one of her father’s to bother Blaine, who just rolls his eyes at her.

He crosses his arms, leaning back into the couch with a playful scowl.  “By four whole minutes, which you will not ever let me forget.”

Kurt chuckles, pulling his clipboard up in front of him.  “I’m almost sorry for asking,” he says, sliding a pencil out from behind his ear.  He decides to change the subject quickly, clearing the air of the sibling rivalry.  “So, why don’t you tell me about you and your fiancé?  How did you meet, what kind of wedding are you planning, when is the ceremony, etc.?”  He pulls a chair up and sits in front of all of them, though his body is angled towards Rachel.

She scoots forward to the edge of her seat, her hands folded in her lap.  “My fiancé’s name is Jesse St. James, and we actually met in high school.  We dated off and on then, but we were both very – bound and determined to make our dreams of performing on stage come true, so when it came time for college, we separated.  We both came to New York, so we did see each other, but we tried not to let what we felt between us get in our way.”

Kurt nods, jotting down a few simple notes ( _HS sweethearts, off and on, performing_ ) as he listens, trying to absorb as much of the information as he can.  It’s one of the more interesting parts of his job, hearing the stories.  It’s remarkable how much of the information he retains, too.  He’ll see brides come in for their fittings and be able to ask them how their fiancé is doing by name, how their job is going, how their sick mother is doing, if they ever managed to buy that house on the coast.

And as much as it can sometimes sting to hear love story after love story – they’re just so intriguing.  And it gives him an odd sense of hope as well.  If these people can meet in the weirdest of ways, when they least expect it, then surely he can too.  Right?  He shakes his head, clearing it of the thoughts so that he can tune back in to Rachel’s story.

“By some strange twist of fate, we both ended up being cast in this Off-Broadway RENT show our third year of school.  We showed up to the first dance rehearsal and it was that clichéd ‘spying each other across the dance floor’ thing,” she says, sighing dreamily, and Kurt actually does chuckle a bit.  Yep, she’s a bride: totally head over heels and living a fairy tale.  Rachel takes it as encouragement though, scooting even further forward on her chair.  “I know, it’s so romantic!  Right?  And even better, he’s the Benny to my Mimi.  Oh, Kurt, it was meant to be,” she finished, reaching out to place a hand on his knee.

He brings his hand to set on top of hers, patting it earnestly.  “You two have quite the love story, and it’s all going to culminate – when, exactly?”

“In about ten months,” Rachel says.  “We’re having the ceremony on our stage, because it just seemed like the right place.  It’s what brought us back together, and it’s our greatest love other than the love we have for each other.”

Kurt grabs her hand then, smiling up at her.  “I can understand that.  I used to be a performer as well, back in high school.”

Blaine is the one who leans forward a bit this time.  “You did?  Why did you stop?”

For a moment, Kurt is thrown back to that day all those years ago when he stood in his home kitchen, staring down at the words _We regret to inform you…._   He purses his lips, shaking his head gently.  “It just didn’t work out for me.  But,” he says, and suddenly the overly bright smile from the very beginning is back, “it did for you, and that’s the important thing here.  Your wedding sounds amazing, and we’re going to make sure you look beautiful, okay?”

Rachel practically bounces in her seat, nodding enthusiastically.  So Kurt stands, offering a hand down to her, saying, “Alright then.  Well, let’s go back to a changing room and get this process started then, shall we?”

She stands, and they give everyone one last wave – Kurt letting them know that the next time they see her, she’ll be in a dress.  As they leave, he pretends not to notice the sad look that Blaine gives him.


	3. Chapter 2

Kurt quickly leads Rachel back to room 6, which is hers for the next hour and a half.  In that hour and a half, he has to make all of her dreams come true.

No pressure.

She quickly takes a seat in the plush chair by the door, and Kurt sits on the bench across from her, clipboard still in hand.

“So, Rachel,” he begins, “why don’t you tell me what you envision yourself in for your wedding day.  Do you have any idea regarding style or embellishment?”

Rachel gracefully crosses her legs in front of her, hands resting on her knees as she launches into her ideas.  Once again, her eyes seem to grow impossibly brighter, and Kurt can’t help but smile.  He loves an enthusiastic bride.

“Oh, yes!” she says.  “I’ve always pictured myself in a ball gown style.  I’ve spent a majority of my life competing in dance competitions and performing on stages, so I’ve worn more costumes than I can count.  I need something that can top those outfits.  Preferably with a sweetheart neckline and lots of beading.”  Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she looks a bit sheepish now.  “I’m afraid I have really high expectations for my dress.  I hope that doesn’t end up causing problems.  I’ve seen the show – I don’t want to have to try on twenty dresses and, in the end, just end up settling, you know?”

Reaching over, Kurt wraps up one of her hands in both of his, giving it a gentle pat.  “Miss Berry, we’ve found dresses for pageant queens and movie stars alike.  Trust me when I say that we will find your dream dress.  We’re not going to ever make you settle.  Now, how about price point?”  He releases her hand then, and jots down a few quick notes on his clipboard before looking expectantly up at her again.

Rachel shrugs a bit and smiles, “My dads said not to worry about it.  Like I said, they’re paying, and if I fall in love with a dress, they said they’d find a way to make it happen.  We’re more concerned about style than price.”

Kurt tries really hard not to let his eyebrows hit his hairline.  It’s rare that they get brides that come in with absolutely no budget.  He, personally, has never had one before, and to be honest, he’s not sure what to do with the newfound freedom now that he knows he can literally pull any dress out of that supply room and she won’t object.  Clearing his throat, he focuses his attention back on his bride.  “So, is it safe to say that you want to be the princess on your wedding day, then?”

Her head ducks then, and she toes the smooth carpeting.  “You could say that, yes.”

Kurt stands and grins, thrusting a hand out towards her.  “Then just call me your fairy godfather, sweetie.  I’ve got this under control.”

***

Kurt wanders in to the stock room, but barely gets a row in before Ashley, the interim fashion director, comes waltzing up to him, a big smile on her face.  “I hear you have a tough one today?” she asks, prodding him for details about his current bride.

“Not particularly difficult,” Kurt says, rifling through dresses.  “Though she is bound and determined to have a ball gown, and I just don’t think it’s going to work on her in the slightest.  But if it’s what she wants, then that’s what I’ll give her.  Maybe I can convince her otherwise.”

He finally spots a Dennis Basso gown that he immediately thought of in the appointment room and folds it gently over his arm before turning to Ashley, who’s still staring at him like a lion waiting to pounce.  He’s always glad for her help, of course, but she’s a little overeager sometimes.

“Ashley,” he says, as gently as possible, “can you go get me a dress rack?  I don’t think I can carry all of these around with me back here.  One of the wheeled ones, you know?”

With a quick nod, she scurries off, and Kurt lets out an exhale he hadn’t noticed he’d been holding in.  She’s good at her job, and Kleinfelds is lucky to have her while their actual fashion director is out doing his own show, but she’s – well, her energy is hard to handle sometimes.

He throws himself into finding dresses, hoping to get back to his bride quickly.  Though he recognizes that his vision isn’t flawless, he truly doesn’t believe that ball gowns will work on Rachel’s figure.  And with that nagging thought in the back of his mind, Kurt tries to hurry.  He’s got a lot to do in this short appointment.

It takes him another fifteen minutes to get out of the stock room, and he leaves with four dresses.  All things considered, he’s proud of himself.  He’s getting to the point that he knows that room so well that he can duck in and out quickly (and, he lets himself think, he would have been out in ten most likely if he hadn’t had Ashley chattering enthusiastically by his side about his bride’s lack of budget).

When he returns to Rachel, she’s changed out of her clothes and is perched on the edge of the chair, pink silk robe tied tightly around her figure.

“Okay!” Kurt says, clapping his hands before him with a bright smile.  “I think we’ve got a good starting point here.  Shall we get started then?”

Rachel bites her lip, and Kurt wonders if she already hates the dresses he’s pulled.  But his stomach drops even further when he realizes she isn’t staring at the dresses – she’s staring at him.

“Is everything okay, Rachel?” he asks, cocking his head to the side a bit as he unzips one of the garment bags.

She swallows, and Kurt can sense her unease, so he abandons the bag half unzipped on the hook on the wall.  Instead, he crouches down in front of her, wrapping her hands up in his.  “What’s wrong?” he asks, his voice soft and kind.

Rachel looks down at their wrapped hands.  “It’s just – I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with a male other than my fiancé helping me into clothing.  It seems weird somehow,” she says, looking up to meet his eyes.  “I really like you, Kurt – it’s nothing against you.  It’s just – I mean, are other brides comfortable with you seeing them barely dressed?”

And Kurt visibly relaxes, chuckling softly.  “Sweetheart, I’m gay,” he says, now comfortable enough with himself, especially with a job like this one, that he feels like he can tell people.  “Trust me, there’s nothing you’ve got that’s remotely titillating to me.  Nothing against you – you’re gorgeous, and your fiancé is a lucky man! – but I’m afraid you just don’t do it for me.”  He pats her knee once before standing, offering a hand to her once again.  “Now, if you’re still uncomfortable, I can go and get a female consultant for you, but I promise that I’ll be doing nothing but helping you into dresses, zipping, and clipping.”

Rachel’s face heats up, and she shakes her head.  “No, no, that won’t be necessary,” she insists.  “I just – I didn’t know.  I mean, I didn’t want to assume.”

Kurt walks back over to the first dress with a smile.  “Don’t worry about it.  It’s best not to assume, really – even though it’s probably pretty obvious, isn’t it?” he asks, his nose scrunched up in a smile.

Finally he finishes unzipping the bag and pulls out a Sophia Moncelli gown, unclipping it from the hanger and undoing the zipper so that she can easily slip in.  Once she’s got both feet in, he helps her wiggle the dress up her torso, laughing softly to himself when he sees that she’s blushing yet again from having to cup the dress to her chest as he zips it in the back.  It’s still loose on her (she really is a tiny girl), so he grabs some of the large clips and secures it on her.

“Alright, are you ready to see your first gown?” he asks, smiling down at her.

“I’ve been ready since the day he asked,” she says breathily.  “Can I turn around now?”

Kurt nods, and she spins, facing her reflection in the full length mirror.  It’s like the breath is knocked out of her.  She actually staggers a step back, her eyes wide and her jaw dropping.

“That’s me?” she asks.  And Kurt just nods again.

“That’s you, sweetheart.  Now, I have to tell you a bit about the dress – it’s a Moncelli design.  Sweetheart neckline, dropped waist, full organza skirt.  It’s really not that expensive, but it looks classic, elegant.”

She purses her lips, bringing a hand up over her mouth as her eyes brim with tears.  “It’s beautiful.  Can we – can we go show them?”

Kurt grabs the back of the dress for her in response, helping her head towards the door.  “With a reaction like that, it would be a crime not to,” he says.

***

Kurt helps Rachel walk back out to her pedestal, and feels the balloon in his chest inflate just a bit at all the wowed sounds and gasps coming from her entourage.  He may not personally be sold on the gown shape, but it still makes him proud when his pick ends up being even a bit successful.  Nobody can doubt that he is good at his job.

Once she finally reaches the stand, she steps up on it, and Kurt lets the skirt fall out behind her, full and displaying as much of the detailing as possible.

“Now, I know she wanted beading, but as soon as I saw this one on the rack, I knew I had to grab it for her,” Kurt says, turning to face her friends and family as he talks.  “It’s a classic ball gown shape, so this gives you a feel of the silhouette she wants without having to worry so much about details and particulars yet.  What do you all think?”

One of the girls – Tina, if Kurt remembers correctly – is crying already.  “Oh, Rachel, you look stunning,” she says, dabbing beneath her eyes with a tissue.  One of the other girls beside her is nodding, saying, “It really shows off your figure.  You look so skinny!”

“You think so, Quinn?” Rachel asks, turning a bit to look at herself from the side in the mirror.  “I was thinking the skirt, with all its ruffles, adds a little too much bulk to me, really.”

Kurt watches as she studies herself, knowing well that this is not the dress for her in the slightest.  But still, he turns to the fathers and stage whispers, “And bonus, dads: it’s only $2000.”

They seem to perk up at this, suddenly much more interested in the way the gown enhances all of her best features.

But Rachel isn’t buying it – literally.  “I don’t think this is it,” she says, shaking her head a bit disappointedly.

Kurt just smiles softly at her.  “Hardly anyone finds their dress in the first one.  We’ll find it, Rachel.”  He holds a hand out to her, smiling yet again at how she relaxes a bit at the gesture.  It seems to rapidly be becoming a thing for them.  So, gingerly, she places her hand in his and nods, waving goodbye to her party as they head off to try more dresses on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dress that Rachel tries on in this chapter can be found [here](http://kleinfeldbridal.com/pics/items/large/Sophia-Moncelli-12834-large.jpg)! Go check it out. It's beautiful, if indeed too big for her. :)


	4. Chapter 3

They slip back into room 6, and Kurt immediately starts to unzip another dress.  They don’t really have time to waste, though he does try to talk her through her problems with the last dress while he works on getting a second one for her to try on.

“So, is there anything specific about the last dress that bothered you?” he asks, looking back at her over his shoulder while he works the next gown free of the plastic.

Rachel sighs, staring at her reflection in the mirror.  “It looks like it’s swallowing me,” she says.  “I want to be the star, not the dress.  If that makes sense?”

Kurt finally gets the new dress free, but leaves it hanging for now.  Instead, he crosses the room and helps Rachel out of the first dress, smiling down at her as he unzips the Moncelli.  “It makes perfect sense, sweetheart.  We’ll find it.”

She agrees quickly, and Kurt goes back to the second dress.  “Now, this is completely different from your first dress, okay?  The waist is dropped lower, and this one’s got lace and bead detailing across the bodice and raining down into the skirt.  The last one’s detail was all in the skirt, so I thought we’d try a detailed top and see how that makes you feel.”

Rachel studies the dress with a bit of a skeptical look, but finally nods.  “I like it.  Let’s try it.”

Kurt grins up at her.  “That’s what I like to hear.  Now let’s get you pinned in.”

***

Rachel stares at herself in the mirror, the Monique Lhuillier dress seeming to be the only thing staring back at her.  Kurt hadn’t lied to her about the dress – it’s a lot of what she asked for.  Ballgown, sweetheart neckline, detailing… but there’s something about it that just seems off.

Kurt stands beside her, waiting for her to make a decision.  His voice echoes in her head (“dropped waist in tulle, with a satin ribbon just under the bust, flower detailing cascading into the lower half”), and she shakes her head, trying to clear it somehow.

“I don’t want to show them this one,” she finally says, looking over to him.  “Can you help me out of it?”

He tries to bite back his surprise, but he can feel his brow furrow.  “I was sure you’d like this one,” he says, but nevertheless moves to unzip her.  “What made you not want to show them this?”

Rachel smooths her hands down the bodice, feeling the many bumps and dips in the material from all the added details.  “I don’t know,” she says, frowning.  “I thought I knew what I wanted in a dress, but… none of these seem to be working.”

Pulling the dress carefully down her (after all, this one is incredibly expensive, so he’s not going to do anything to possibly wreck the sample), he helps her step out of it before moving to hang it back up.  “Maybe the dropped waist just wasn’t right for you.  We’ll find it it, Rachel.”  He holds up the third dress, which is almost the polar opposite of the one she just stepped out of.

Her eyes widen a bit, and she nods.  “Definitely that one,” she says, and Kurt beams internally.  His bride is smiling again.

“Then let’s get you into it, shall we?”

It takes them a few minutes to slide the dress into place, using the giant clips to tighten it around her small frame, but once he finishes, Kurt takes a step back and smiles at her.

“You look beautiful,” he finally says.  And she does.  Though the Badgley Mischka gown hangs far too long on her (she really is tiny), it fits her like a glove.  “Sweetheart neckline, empire waist in organza and beaded embroidery, with a sweep train.  Now, it’s expensive, but-“

Rachel cuts him off, bouncing a bit on the balls of her feet.  “I love it!  Can we go show them?”

Kurt laughs and heads behind her, grabbing the train so that she doesn’t trip.  “You don’t have to ask.  Let’s go.”

***

The third dress is a flop, which surprises Kurt more than anything else has thus far in this appointment.  Both he and Rachel are so sure that this will be one everyone will love, but their faces all say differently.  And their faces are the only things talking, because they all fall dead silent as soon as she walks out.

She steps up on the podium, looking at herself in the mirror with a grin one last time before doing a little turn and facing her friends and family.  “So?  What do you think?” she asks, her smile broad across her face.

Her brother just kind of stares at her, arms crossed awkwardly across his chest.  He looks to the groups of people on either side of him, practically begging for someone else to say something.

Finally, one of her fathers speaks up, and Kurt can see Blaine breathe out a sigh of relief that he doesn’t had to be the one to break the silence.  “I think it’s… working against you,” he says, trying to be delicate.  “Normally the high waist is very flattering on women, but here it just makes you look… tiny.  I think that dress is better suited for someone with a bit more height to them, angel.”

Rachel’s jaw drops a bit, but she isn’t about to give in so easily.  She turns to her friends, eyebrows raised high in a silent plea for help.  But there is none to be found.

“I think I agree with your dad,” one of them (Mercedes, Kurt’s mind supplies) says.  “It looks like you’re playing dress up, not getting ready to walk down the aisle.”

His bride huffs, crossing her arms across her chest, right across the satin band, and turns to her brother.  “And I suppose you agree with them?”

Blaine stands, coming to stand beside her.  With gentle hands on her waist, he turns her around until she’s staring in the mirror again.  Then, looking to Kurt for a split second, he grabs the tulle of the skirt and pulls it all behind her, making the silhouette of the dress a much slimmer one.  Immediately, everyone behind them perks up, nodding with their oohs and ahhs.

“See, that looks so much better,” the blonde girl supplies.  “I think it’s the big skirts that are just eating you up.”

Rachel pouts.  “But I’ve always wanted a ball gown.”

Blaine rolls his eyes playfully at her.  “Stick that lip out a bit further and a little birdie might come land on it.”  She swats at his shoulder, and he just laughs.  Some little part inside Kurt twists in jealousy, wishing he’d grown up with a sibling.  Finn, his step-brother, came into his life when he was seventeen.  Basically already grown.  But he snaps his attention back to Blaine and Rachel, who are still bickering in front of the mirror.

“I don’t want a skin tight dress, Blaine!” Rachel says, exasperatedly.  “I play Mimi almost every day.  A day out of painted on clothes would be nice, you know.”

Blaine brings his forehead to rest on her shoulder with a heavy sigh.  “I’m not saying you should wear something that clings to you that tightly, Rach.  I’m just saying that maybe more of a sheath silhouette would work better for you.”

Kurt’s head perks up at that comment, and he goes to stand on Rachel’s other side.  “You know dress styles?” he asks, meeting Blaine’s eye through the mirror.

The other boy colors a bit, giving a slight shrug.  “I did a lot of theater stuff growing up too.  You spend a lot of time in costuming.”

Narrowing his eyes ever-so-slightly, Kurt studies him for a moment before saying, “Well, since you obviously know your sister well, and everyone seems to like your opinion, why don’t you come into the back with me?  Maybe between the two of us, we can find her a dress yet.”

Blaine blinks up at him, turning to look at his profile rather than his reflection.  “I can do that, yeah,” he says, his voice suddenly much softer.

Kurt’s eyes never leave the mirror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dresses that Rachel tried on in this chapter (in order of appearance) can be found [here](http://www.kleinfeldbridal.com/pics/items/large/Monique-Lhuillier-13883-large.jpg) and [here](http://www.kleinfeldbridal.com/pics/items/large/Badgley-Mischka--14006-large.21%20-%20Ava%20front.JPG.jpeg)! Go check them out!


	5. Chapter 4

Kurt leads Blaine back into the stock room – or… he tries to, at least.  Blaine stops short just outside the door, looking up at the sign that expressly forbids him to walk back there.  He clears his throat a bit, drawing Kurt’s attention back to him, and points up.  Kurt gives him a questioning look before remembering the sign and just shakes his head with a laugh.

“You can come back here, as long as you’re with a consultant.”  With a flourish, he gestures to his nametag that, not too surprisingly, reads: Kurt (Consultant).  “We just don’t allow families to wander back here on their own to look through the stock.  They can wander the floor, but not here.”

Blaine gives a little “Ahh” and follows Kurt into the room.  They walk past what seems like an endless number of dresses in all sorts of colors – White, Ivory, Cream, Eggshell – and all sorts of styles – Ball Gown, Mermaid, A-line.  They head into the very back right corner, a walk that feels like it lasts forever, before Kurt stops.

“These,” he says, holding his arm out towards the rack, “are our sheath dresses.  Normally I’d direct you to a certain part of the rack based on price, but… I suppose that isn’t an issue here, is it?”

Shaking his head a bit, Blaine gives a quiet chuckle.  “Not really, no.  Rachel pretty much gets whatever she wants.  She’s the princess.”

Kurt begins ruffling through dresses, pulling one out towards him to examine.  With a soft hum, he slides the dress back into the rack.  It’s not right.

“And what about you?” he asks, turning to look at Blaine.  “Does that make you the prince?”

Blaine also pushes a dress back into the rack.  As if he’s startled by the question, he turns to look at Kurt with wide eyes, but then promptly turns back to the dresses.  “No, not quite,” he mumbles.

He obviously notices Kurt’s questioning gaze, the way he’s paused in rifling through the dresses and cocked his head to the side, because he sighs and continues speaking.

“It’s nothing, really.  We’re both grown and have moved out, so it’s not even an issue anymore.”

Kurt clicks his tongue a bit and finally pulls a dress off the rack, draping it over his arm.  It’s a little old fashioned – completely lace with little cap sleeves – but for a girl so entrenched in theatre (which is not exactly a new pursuit), perhaps it’ll be just right, he thinks.  He’s excited to see her in it, at least.

“It’s never nothing, Blaine,” he finally says.  “Not with a sigh like that.  Now come on, spill.”  He angles his body towards the other man, pausing in his dress searching to really look at him.

His shoulders are tight, drawn together much more harshly than you’d imagine for such a happy occasion.  After all, Blaine seems to be close to his sister, and he seems to be happy for her.  The thought idly flashes through Kurt’s mind of how quiet Blaine had been out on the floor.  Arms crossed over his chest, curling back into the couch, awkwardly glancing to the side waiting for someone else to speak up.  He wonders why.  And it isn’t his place to pry, really – Rachel is supposed to be his concentration right now – but there’s something about this boy that draws him in.

And it’s not just the fact that he’s gorgeous either.

Blaine rolls his eyes, almost a bit playfully, before turning to Kurt.  “Have you ever heard of a surprise twin?”

Kurt shakes his head, readjusting the plastic bag on his arm.

“There are rare cases,” Blaine begins, tucking a loose curl back behind his ear, “and trust me, they are very rare, where the parents are unaware that they’re having twins.  Sometimes one of the babies will somehow always be in front of the other when they do a sonogram – and if the parents have no reason to suspect twins, then they won’t really listen close enough to hear the faint heartbeat of the baby behind the other.”

It’s finally beginning to sink in, just what Blaine has had to deal with his entire life.  “They didn’t know you were coming,” he says.

Blaine gives him a soft sort of smile.  “Rachel’s always loved the spotlight,” he says, shrugging a bit.  He turns back to the dress rack, and Kurt figures that’s going to be the end of their conversation.  He turns back as well, flipping through the dresses in silence.  It’s just starting to get a bit awkward when Blaine speaks up again.

“It’s not like they didn’t love both of us, or anything.  It’s just – it’s weird growing up always being the kid that wasn’t planned for.  We were ‘Rachel and our little surprise’ more than we were ‘Rachel and Blaine’ growing up.”  He pulls out a dress and begins looking it over in closer detail, his brows furrowing a bit.  “Our fathers are amazing men, and I don’t hold anything against them or anything, but they’ve just always held her on a bit of a pedestal.”  Apparently satisfied with the dress, he holds it out to Kurt for him to look over.  “This is no different,” he says, finishing his story.

The smile plastered on his face seems final – plastered and fake – and Kurt grabs the dress from him gently and drapes it over his arm.  It’s beautiful, yes, but honestly, the dresses aren’t his focus anymore.

“Why don’t we look on the other side of this rack?” he says.  “Just push through the dresses here and I’ll meet you on the other side, okay?  I’m just going to grab a cart for these,” he says, raising his arms to gesture to the garments laying there.

Blaine blinks, surprised by the sudden change in topic.  His face falls a bit, back into more of a neutral state, but he nods and disappears into the rack.

Kurt walks briskly down the aisle, grabbing a cart that rests a few feet away.  He’s just starting to hang up the clothes when Blaine’s confused voice sounds out from behind the dresses.

“Uhh, Kurt?  What – what other dresses are you talking about?”

Glancing about the room one last time (they _are_ alone, and he’s never been happier with how busy this store is, seeing as all other consultants must be in with clients), he ducks through the dresses as well.

There’s nothing there – Blaine is right about that.  The only thing behind the dresses are more empty carts and locked doors leading to storage rooms full of new purchases or old model dresses that they no longer sell.

“There aren’t any,” he says, his voice soft.  “I just wanted to get away from the cameras.”  He nods his head toward a few cameras on either wall.  They’re angled in towards the dresses, this small empty aisle just out of reach of the lenses.  He used to find it a bit of a lapse in security, but he’s never been more grateful for it than now.

Blaine swallows, suddenly looking nervous.  “And why, pray tell, are we hiding from cameras?”

Kurt smiles at him, and tries to resist the urge to reach up and tuck one of those stupidly adorable curls back into place.  And god, he has no idea when he fell this hard (sometime during the tell-all life story, he assumes), but it’s suddenly incredibly hard to tear his eyes away from this boy.  He hardly knows him,  but he _really_ wants to.  He wants to know what makes him tick, what makes him smile, what makes him _fall apart_.  He wants-

“I want you to know that you’re not invisible,” Kurt says.

Blaine blinks, confused, and glances side to side again.  “So… you took me to a place nobody can see?  Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose?”

Ducking his head to hide his smile, Kurt just shakes his head.  “No, silly.  It just means I won’t lose my job.”

Blaine is just looking more confused by the minute.  “Why would you lose your job?  I don’t – Kurt, what’s going on?”

He doesn’t answer.  He doesn’t really even give him any time to react.  He just crosses the space between them in a few short strides and slides a hand up to cup Blaine’s cheek, tilting his head back slightly until he brings his own down to meet Blaine’s lips in a gentle kiss.


	6. Chapter 5

Blaine pretty much freezes the second he feels Kurt’s lips on his.  He stands up a bit straighter, tries to bring his hands up to Kurt’s shoulders in a panic, but Kurt just slides a hand up to cup his cheek.  The touch is gentle, his thumb almost caressing across the length of Blaine’s high cheekbones, because he doesn’t want to scare this boy away.

Some small voice in the back of Kurt’s mind tells him that maybe he’s already done that by moving to kiss him, but he really hopes not.  He knows it was a bold move, and he knows it was incredibly forward.  Of course he does.  But that doesn’t change the fact that the way he feels, the desire to kiss Blaine and to be there with him – to hear the tiny whimper of surprise that dies in the back of his throat when Kurt kisses him – is very, very real.

At the very least, Blaine doesn’t seem to be shoving him away.  In fact, once the initial panic subsides, he tilts his head to follow the curve of Kurt’s lips, chasing after them when he tries to pull back.  Both of his lips settle over Kurt’s lower one, and Kurt has to bite back a groan at how well they seem to slot together.  In his line of work, he’s heard so many women wax poetic about how their relationship was love at first sight, how they just knew that the person they met was going to be ‘the one.’

Well, Kurt doesn’t know if Blaine is ‘the one,’ but he’s fairly certain he could kiss him forever.

Especially if he would keep doing that _thing_ with his tongue.

They pull apart to breathe for a moment, and Blaine is staring up at him with wide eyes, his chest heaving a bit with the effort it takes to pull in a breath – and oh yeah, they probably should’ve broken for air a while ago, now that Kurt thinks about it.  He’s not exactly breathing evenly himself.

Blaine clears his throat, but he never breaks eye contact with Kurt when he asks, “Wh-what was that?”

Kurt swallows thickly and hopes that, now that the moment is over, Blaine isn’t having second thoughts.  “A kiss, last time I checked,” he replies, mentally kicking himself a bit for just how far gone and how breathless his voice has become.

“But… but why?” Blaine stammers, shaking his head a bit as he takes a step back.  Kurt’s heart drops into the pit of his stomach.

“Because I – I wanted to.  And I thought that – oh god, did I read that completely wrong?  God, Blaine, I’m so sor-“

Blaine settles a finger over Kurt’s lips, and Kurt is pleasantly surprised to see that those lips (those perfect, kiss-bitten, slick, slightly swollen, _gorgeous_ ) lips are curved up into a bit of a smile.  “You didn’t read that wrong,” he says, and Kurt lets out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding back.  “I’ve wanted to kiss you from the moment you first walked out to us.  I didn’t figure I would get the chance, though.  I just – I don’t understand.  Why _me_?  I mean, look at you,” he says, gesturing to the long length of Kurt in front of him.  “You’re gorgeous.  You look like you could have anyone you want.”

Kurt chuckles, shaking his head a bit.  “I’m really not.  That – that attractive, I mean.”

With a roll of his eyes, Blaine takes a step forward, returning to his original position slotted in close to Kurt.  “Are you kidding me, Kurt?  You’re beautiful,” he says, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind is ear, and Kurt’s stomach flutters ridiculously, because he had just been wanting to do that to _him_.  “Any guy would be lucky to have you.  You’re all long lines and perfect angles and I’m… I’m just going to stop now,” he says, ducking his head as a flush crawls up his neck towards his ears.

Kurt takes a moment – just a quick one, really – to give a small, internal scream at how cute Blaine is and how after such a short time together, he seems to have a dangerous effect on the state of his heart.  Then he slips two of his fingers under Blaine’s chin, pushing up gently until their eyes meet again.

“You don’t have to stop,” he says, then tilts his head down and presses their lips together again.

The kiss is soft at first, a bit hesitant as he waits to see if Blaine will respond as eagerly as last time, but it’s Blaine who pushes it further this time.  It’s Blaine who slides his tongue across the tender flesh of Kurt’s lower lip, a silent plea for permission to enter, and Kurt readily gives it to him.  He sighs, letting his jaw drop open, and pushes himself even closer into Blaine’s space, arms circling around his neck.

Blaine is just sliding his hands down to Kurt’s waist to pull him in closer when it suddenly becomes clear to both of them that they aren’t alone.

“Kurt?  Are you in here?”  Ashley’s voice rings out loud and clear in the quiet stock room, and the two boys spring apart, their faces bright red.

“Oh my god,” Kurt whispers, quickly reaching out to adjust the now-rumpled collar of Blaine’s shirt.  “She can’t leave me alone for a second, can she?”

The _click-click-click_ of her heels comes closer, and Kurt gestures to Blaine to stay there and not make a sound before he quickly ducks out of the dress rack and back into the aisle.  He’s just managing to get his hands on the rack that has both his and Blaine’s picks for Rachel on it when she rounds the corner towards him.

“Kurt, there you are!” she says, her face not nearly as happy as it was when she was questioning him earlier.  “Your bride is starting to ask what’s taking so long.  Apparently you’ve been away from her for a while.”

He nods a bit, hoping the color in his face has drained a bit, that it isn’t incredibly obvious that he’s spent the last – oh god, a glance down at his watch says it’s been twenty minutes now that he’s been making out with Blaine, not including the ten that they’d been talking and searching for dresses beforehand.  “Yes, well – like you said, she’s a tough one.”

Ashley cocks her head at him, her eyes narrowing a bit.  “I thought _you_ said she wasn’t difficult?”

“I guess I was wrong,” he says, as nonchalantly as possible.  “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I finally have two choices here to take to her, and I’m pretty sure one will be the one.”

The woman raises her hand like she’s about to protest again (which has Kurt rolling his eyes internally, because really, she’s not even his boss – she’s just the interim director while their usual is out touring), but thankfully another consultant ducks her head around the aisle.

“Ashley, thank god.  I’ve been looking for you everywhere.  I can’t find this Lazaro piece that I’m sure was right here yesterday.  Can you help me out?”

She nods, but gives Kurt one last look before she leaves, heels clicking hurriedly down the next aisle as she disappears.  Kurt exhales and visibly slumps back against the rack, his heart racing.

“Okay, Blaine.  You can come out now,” he says, his voice still soft.

Blaine pushes through the dresses a moment later, an eyebrow raised playfully.  “Rachel’s a tough one, hm?”

Kurt just groans.  “You have no idea.”  He grabs ahold of the wheeled rack with the two dresses on it and starts pushing it towards the exit of the room when Blaine grabs his wrist, stilling him.

Before he can ask why, Blaine is kissing him again – just a quick, stolen press of the lips, but it makes his heart race.  “Oh, I think I do,” he teases, settling his hand low in the small of Kurt’s back as they begin walking again, and Kurt hopes that he can’t feel how high his pulse is from there.

It’s remarkable the change in Blaine that’s taken place since they first entered the stock room.  The withdrawn, shy, hurt boy is hardly to be found now.  Once he realized that Kurt obviously returned his feelings, it’s like someone gave him a shot of confidence.  And as much as Kurt secretly kind of liked getting to help make Blaine feel better, he kind of adores this side of him too.

But at the same time, they absolutely cannot walk out of the room like this, so he reluctantly turns to Blaine to tell him so.

“You can’t tell anyone about this,” he says, hating that he has to say it in the first place.  “I could lose my job, like I said earlier, for being unprofessional.  So that unfortunately means you have to let me go.”

Blaine’s face falls a bit, but he does as he’s told, dropping his hand back down to his side.  “What about Rachel?”

Kurt bites his lip.  “Not yet.  You can’t tell her – not until she isn’t my customer anymore.  I can’t risk her reporting me, or someone overhearing her talking about it, or – or anything like that.”  Blaine stiffens, and Kurt knows that what he’s said has sunk in.

“But she’ll be your customer for six to eight months,” he says, his eyes a bit downcast.  “So we can’t-“

“We can’t,” Kurt echoes.  “At least – not yet.  Not now, and not here.  But – but Blaine, listen to me!  I really want to.  I do, I just-“

Blaine shakes his head.  “No.  No, it’s fine.  I understand.  I’ll – I’m just going to go sit back out with my family, okay?  You go help my sister.  After all, that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”

And then he leaves, and Kurt just watches him go, wondering how on earth that all fell apart so quickly.


	7. Chapter 6

Kurt stares at the door Blaine walks out for a good minute or two, frozen to the spot.  His heart falls down into his stomach, cold and harsh and completely confusing.  He knows that he did the right thing by his own life, by his job and his lifestyle, but that doesn’t make him feel any better.  He finally has to shake himself out of his stupor and force himself to move forward.  One step at a time, one breath at a time, until he’s closing the door to room six behind him.  Rachel immediately springs up off her chair, her brows furrowed.

“Where have you been?” she practically shrieks.  “I’m almost out of appointment time, and we haven’t found anything yet!”

Kurt hangs the two dresses on the hook on the wall and takes a deep breath.  He knows she means well, and he can totally understand why she’s nervous, but it’s honestly the last thing he needs right now.  He feels like his heart has been ripped out and run over by one of the dress carts.  So he closes his eyes for a moment, gives himself a second to calm down, and turns back to her with a bright smile.  He’s good at those.

“Sorry, Rachel,” he says, unzipping a bag containing a lace Maggie Sottero gown.  “I had a little trouble in the stock room, but I really think that I’ve found the dress here.  One of these two will be it, I’m sure of it.  Your brother,” he says, swallowing harshly around the word, “was a great help.”

Rachel cocks her head to the side, studying him for a minute, but she finally relaxes and gives him a bit of a sheepish smile.  “Alright.  Sorry, I’m just – I’m worried I’m not going to find anything here today.  Everything I thought I wanted isn’t working.”

Slipping the dress off the hanger, Kurt glances up at her, his eyes softening.  It’s not Rachel’s fault he feels so lousy, after all.  “I’ll let you in on a little secret,” he says.  “You’re my last appointment for the day, and I still have an hour of wiggle room left for the day.  If we run over, it’s okay.”

Rachel let out a deep breath.  “Oh, thank goodness,” she said, a hand pressed over her heart.  “So… what are we trying on next?” she asks, looking much more at peace than she did moments ago.

Kurt holds up the lace gown for her to examine, and if the sparkle in Rachel’s eye in any indication, this could be very promising.  She nods quickly and enthusiastically, and Kurt helps her step into it, zipping it up behind her.

“Rachel, this dress fits you like a glove,” he says, tugging gently on the cap sleeves to pull them back into place.  It doesn’t need any clips to hold it to her body.  Sure, alterations would make a few minor adjustments, but if it was really needed in a pinch?  Rachel could walk away with this dress as is and be a fabulous bride.  “Just look at yourself.”  Grabbing her shoulders, he carefully spins her around until she’s looking at her reflection, and she just smiles.

“Wow,” she says on an exhale.  “I – I don’t even know what to say about this one.”

“Rachel Berry, speechless?  My, maybe I am good at this job after all,” Kurt teases.

Rachel rolls her eyes and swats playfully at him, but quickly turns her gaze back to her own reflection.  “We have to show them,” she says, shaking her head like there’s no other option.  “We have to.”

Kurt just smiles.  “One step ahead of you,” he replies, gesturing to the already open door of the dressing room.

***

The exact moment Rachel’s group sees her come around the corner, holding the delicate lace of the dress in her hands so as not to trip over the hem as she goes, is audible.  There are gasps interspersed with soft ‘oh, Rachel’s and a few brief hiccups that leave Kurt wondering if they’re crying already – if maybe this is it.

His bride steps onto the pedestal once again, facing away from her group, the chapel train fanning out behind her, and her reflection says it all.  She loves the dress – her eyes are already brimming with tears and she keeps smoothing her hands down the front it, admiring the feel and look of it all.  She doesn’t turn back around to face the group, but she finally speaks up after a moment.

“Well?” Rachel asks.  “What do you think?”

It’s a question she’s asked them before during this trip, but never with quite so much… uncertainty.  Kurt can tell that she needs them to like this dress – she needs their approval – or she can’t get it, no matter how much _she_ may love it.

Her fathers both stand, coming to flank either side of her in the mirror.  One of them wraps an arm around her waist while the other drapes an arm across her shoulders, and they tuck her in close to their sides.

“You look like a princess,” one of them says.

“But like a princess from an old Hollywood movie,” the other chips, holding a finger up as if to silence his husband.  “Classy and elegant.  Sophisticated.”

“Old world meets Vogue.  Very chic.”  He gives Rachel a thumbs up in the mirror, winking exaggeratedly at her, which just causes her to grin, tucking her face into his side to hide her smile.

Clearly they’re close, and clearly this is where she gets her sense of theatrics from, but Kurt can’t help but notice that there’s one member of the happy family who doesn’t seem so enthused.  So he turns to Blaine with a gentle smile.

“Blaine, what do you think?”

Blaine pushes himself up off the couch with a bit of a sigh, moving to come stand beside his sister in front of the mirror, one of their fathers having made room to squeeze him in.  Meeting Rachel’s eyes in the reflection, he smiles, his hand sliding down to slide into hers.

“I think you look beautiful.  Of course you do.”

Kurt can see that he gives her hand a squeeze, and he swears that the grip Blaine has is around his heart rather than his sister’s hand.  He barely manages to squeeze out a “But?”

“But,” Blaine begins, turning to give Kurt a look over his shoulder, “I’m just… I’m wondering if it might be a bit too… busy still?”

Rachel snaps her head around to look at him.  “What do you mean?” she asks, a slight note of panic seeping into her voice.

Blaine shakes his head quickly, turning to face her and grabbing her other hand in his as well.  “No, no, Rach, listen to me.  The dress is beautiful, and you are beautiful in it, and for any other type of wedding, this would clearly be the right choice for you.”

“Any other type of wedding?”

He sighs.  “Sis, you’re getting married on a Broadway stage.  It’s elaborate, it’s showy, it’s grand.  It’s everything you’ve ever wanted, and everything that you deserve to have.  But if _you also_ look elaborate and showy and grand… you’re just going to look like another piece of the set.”

She pouts, turning to glance at her reflection again.  “But this is so toned down from the other dresses.”

“I know.  I know, and that’s good,” he says, nodding and smiling over at her.  “I just wonder if something even simpler would make you stand out even more, you know?”  With another sigh, he pulls her into a hug, holding her tight and fierce.  Kurt tries to ignore the uneasy ball of jealousy rolling around in the pit of his stomach.  “I just want your day to be perfect for you, Rach.  It’s your day, and you deserve to be the star of your show.”

Rachel’s crying when she pulls back from her brother, and Kurt wordlessly holds a box of tissues up towards her, waiting to see what her reaction is going to be.

“So what do I do now?” she finally says, dabbing carefully beneath her eyes so as not to mess up her make-up any further than it may already be.

Blaine finally turns to look at Kurt, a bit of a questioning look on his face, and Kurt just nods.

“There’s one more dress I want you to try on.  For me, okay?” Blaine says, grabbing a tissue himself and reaching up to wipe at a small speck of mascara on her cheekbone.  “If you don’t like it, then – then go with this one.  Because you really do look stunning.”

Rachel nods, sniffling a bit.  Blaine steps down off the pedestal then, holding a hand out to her to help her down as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dress that Rachel tried on in this chapter can be found [here](http://www.kleinfeldbridal.com/index.cfm?pid=52&item_id=14164&showpic=main&rowid=24&page=3)! Go check it out!


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